Department for International Development

Gaza: Health Services

lord steel of aikwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following the announcement by the Palestinian Ministry of Health that because of fuel shortages affecting hospitals and clinics “urgent action is needed to prevent collapse of Gaza’s health system”, they are planning to offer any assistance.

lord bates: We remain concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and continue to monitor it closely, including the effect electricity shortages are having on the health sector. The UK will continue to urge all the parties to prioritise progress towards reaching a durable solution for Gaza and to take the necessary practical steps to improve conditions, including restoring the availability of electricity as a matter of urgency. The UK is supporting approximately 1 million Gazans by addressing critical water, sanitation and hygiene needs through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and is a long-term supporter of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), which provides basic services to 1.3 million people in Gaza, including basic health care.

Gaza: Infrastructure

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the offer by the government of Israel to provideassistance for rebuilding Gaza’s infrastructure,and to that government's request for the international communityto fund that work.

lord bates: The UK Government consistently calls on the Israeli Government to ease movement and access restrictions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) and repeatedly calls on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law. We welcome recent Israeli announcements to ease restrictions on the importation of material into Gaza for much needed infrastructure projects such as the proposed Central Gaza Desalination Plant and other waste water plants under construction, which many international donors are supporting. The UK is currently engaging with relevant stakeholders to discuss the development of infrastructure for enhanced water and electricity supply in Gaza, and continues to urge all the parties to prioritise progress towards reaching a durable solution for Gaza and to take the necessary practical steps to improve conditions.

Overseas Aid

lord stoddart of swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what amount they expect to spend on overseas aid, including UK aid administered by the EU, between 2018 and 2025.

lord bates: The UK Government has committed to spending 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance (ODA). The budget to achieve this is calculated using forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) (latest published in the EFO in November 2017). These numbers are indicative and will be updated in future budgets to reflect the most up to date OBR forecasts.

Gaza: Hospitals

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they intend to take, if any, in response to reports that Beit Hanoun Hospital has closed due to severe shortages of fuel for hospital generators.

lord bates: The UK is concerned about reports that Beit Hanoun Hospital has been partially closed in order to rationalise fuel. The UK continues to monitor the humanitarian situation in Gaza closely. The UK is supporting approximately 1 million Gazans by addressing critical water, sanitation and hygiene needs through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and is a long-term supporter of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), which provides basic services to 1.3 million people in Gaza, including basic health care. The UK will continue to urge all the parties to prioritise progress towards reaching a durable solution for Gaza and to take the necessary practical steps to improve conditions, including restoring the availability of electricity as a matter of urgency.

Cabinet Office

Prosperity Fund

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of Official Development Assistanceis disbursedthrough the Prosperity Fund.

lord young of cookham: The Prosperity Fund is worth a total of £1.2bn over six years and is likely to represent around 3% of UK aid spending per annum by 2021.Further information is available at;https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-government-prosperity-fund-programmehttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/670103/FCO-Prosperity-Report-2016-2017.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/official-development-assistance-oda-fco-prosperity-fund-spend 



FCO Prosperity Report 2016 -2017
(PDF Document, 1.69 MB)

Public Appointments

lord morris of aberavon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply byLord Young of Cookham on 25 January (HL Deb, cols 1083–1085), what action they are taking to widen the pool of talent for appointment to public bodies.

lord young of cookham: In December 2017, the Government published a Public Appointments Diversity Action Plan which sets out the range of activities we are undertaking to attract and to support new and diverse talent into public appointments. It sets out our ambition that, by 2022, 50% of all public appointees should be female and 14% of all public appointments should be from ethnic minorities (currently 43% and 10% respectively). It also announced a review of the barriers preventing disabled people from taking up public appointments. Other actions include improving the recruitment process to maximise opportunities for candidates from the broadest range of backgrounds, developing the networks through which to raise awareness of public appointments, and establishing a group of mentors who will provide peer-to-peer support for new and high potential candidates.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Flood Control: Earby

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will meet a delegation from Pendle Borough Council to discuss the problems relating to past and potential flooding in Earby.

lord gardiner of kimble: Pendle Borough Council are advised to write to the Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Environment setting out their concerns. The contact address is Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Environment, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR.